art & writing by jaysen matthew waller

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The message of Christmas is so much more radical than the welcome and beneficial sentiments of warmth and familial love.

That a small refugee infant with parents trying to find safe haven in a foreign country, fleeing from their home and the danger there, poor and homeless, would become a symbol of divine and sacred love, a messenger of peace and generosity of heart, speaking truth to power, standing up for the vulnerable and powerless, giving space and attention to the outsider, the outcast.

An incredible message and life changing if we open our hearts to it.

We need this Christmas message today.

May it strike our hearts at their core, opening us to love all, including and most especially the refugee, the homeless, the foreigner, the poor, the vulnerable and outcast.

May it be so.

And may you and your family and friends have a Merry Christmas.

Wishing you all that is beautiful and beneficial today and everyday.

May you be happy, may you be safe and at ease, and may you be free from suffering.

possibly both houses of Congress are voting on the #GOPTaxPlan today.
The Tax Policy Center, an independent organization, has stated the within ten years 83% of tax-cuts income will go to the top 1% and the bottom 60% (that’s most if not everybody i know…if it isn’t you, please adopt me) will be paying more a lot more in taxes. Analysis is that we will increase our deficit by $1.5 trillion.
recently both Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio made statements that savings to help pay for this, will likely be taken from entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) which would undeniably and adversely hit the poor, the elderly, those with disabilities.
this isn’t a partisan issue. this is a moral issue. how we treat the most vulnerable cuts through everything else and is at the heart of who we are and who we want to be.
there’s a lack of #empathy from those in power toward those not in power. i was listening Chuck Grassley and Orin Hatch recently and as they talked about those on assistance programs, it wasn’t even indifference that i heard, i heard disdain. it was gross, but mostly sad.
this is an issue of the heart and soul, a lack of awareness of our interdependence, a lack of recognition that our destinies are tied to each other. the story will not end with what is possibly passed today, with this tax plan. but, the story will be deeply changed – initially for the most poor and vulnerable, but also and eventually for those in power. we cannot escape our actions, if not outwardly, then inwardly. neither is burden we want to carry as a country.
if this concerns you or speaks to your heart, please call your Senator, your Representatives, send faxes, and use your social media platforms.
may all be well, safe, at peace and free from suffering.

It doesn’t really work to let go of things in the abstract. Letting go takes place in the chaos of life, knee-deep in the mud, when we feel like we are drowning, with that all too familiar, desperate feeling to cling, to find some security.

So we practice letting go in meditation. Grounded, balanced in our breathing. Thought after thought, feeling after feeling, we let go. They arise, we recognize them and let go. They fall away. We do this thousands of times.
It never stops. No real extraordinary effort. We just show up, we stop, we allow space, and we let go.

It’s an act of bravery, it’s an act of generosity, it’s an act of peace.

We still have goals, we still work to benefit, to reduce harm, to end suffering. But we do so, with an openness and non-attachment to the results. It is an act of trust, trusting that the seeds planted – seeds of love, seeds of empathy, seeds of compassion, seeds of justice, seeds of equality, seeds of peace – will come to fruition in their time, when the appropriate conditions arise to support and nurture them.

This will be how we maintain sanity, in this time. Show up, act with love, let go, and get to work again, and again.

at its most benign the repeal of #NetNeutrality is a greedy hand grab by network providers to limit speed, bandwidth, and content for the purpose of charging consumers more money for better, higher quality access.

at its most harmful, its repeal is a way to manipulate and control access to communication, shared knowledge, and community connection – squashing grassroot movements, and further creating a class system in regards to connection and knowledge.

whether your focus is on the consumer or on the principle of equality, the repeal of Net Neutrality is harmful.

access to the internet should be equal and should be considered a common use form of communication.

fight the repeal of Net Neutrality. make your voice heard loud and clear.